One Dirty Thought
by yourstruly247
Summary: When Sasuke takes a peek into his female teammate's mind, what he discovers shocks him. How will he react to her ever so perverted thoughts?
1. Where it all begins

**HEY EVERYONE. Well, I didn't feel too satisfied with this chapter so I thought it would be better for me to improve it a little. Someone called Maras gave me some very interesting constructive criticism (THANK YOU!) and so I've tried to take it into consideration. **

**I was never really good at describing clothing, so use your imagination to come up with some appropriate clothing for them!**

**Well I'm sorry if this story isn't as satisfying as my other one, but please do read it anyway and let me know your thoughts.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong><em>The prologue~<em>**

It all started on that day, the day that would symbolize the beginning of two people's burdens and another's amusement.

The sun had yet to fully emerge from the horizon as they were all situated at the bridge, the new Team 7 that is. And of course, their mentor (although they definitely weren't in need for one) Kakashi Hatake was the main reason for their delay in training as usual. You know what they say, old habits die hard. Especially for a certain someone.

By a certain someone, we are talking about a certain pink haired kunoichi in particular. Whilst the ever so lively and hyperactive Naruto was verbally harassing the emotionless artist and the once missing nin, Sakura couldn't help but let her thoughts drift off to the person who she deemed unreachable.

Sasuke Uchiha.

When he had left the village a couple of years ago, Sakura's thoughts wandered to him more times than Naruto has eaten ramen. And every time his face appeared in her mind, it caused her more pain than she deemed necessary. Thus, in an attempt to minimise her suffering from his absence, she trained herself to focus her thoughts elsewhere. Why think of someone who isn't thinking of you, right?

For a while, she managed to successfully block out any thoughts of him by focusing on other things: training and her duties as a medic. Her life was starting to look up, you could say. But there were always those times, when she was left all alone to her thoughts, that nothing could distract her from the misery he put her through. She was only trying to forget the inevitable truth:

He broke her the day he left.

But now, 5 years after the day that Sakura had wished she could erase from her memories, he's returned to them at the still young age of 17. After completing all his primary goals, and having to be a victim to Naruto's endless determination and strength, he was finally persuaded to return to his true home - Konoha. He knew that his team would receive him with smiles and open arms. He knew that Tsunade could never really punish him for betraying the village, he DID help kill two very dangerous men after all. But what he didn't know was that even with his return, Sakura was still broken. He didn't know that the pieces of her heart that he had shattered years ago could never be fitted together again. Her heart would never be whole.

Thanks to him.

However, there were times – like now – where she would imagine what it would feel like to have him embrace her warmly; kiss her senseless; tell her everything word she'd ever wanted to hear coming from his lips in his husky tone. To feel his lips moulding softly on hers; his muscular yet lean body pressed tightly on her slender figure; her soft fingertips gently trailing his well toned chest right down to the sharp lines that defined his abs; his skin on hers, leaving a burning trail wherever their bodies met; maybe even his breath fanning across her neck; hands exploring her body ravenously-

She stopped her thoughts before they became too inappropriate for her to imagine given that she was in a public area, let alone around the person who was the main character in her fantasies since she was 12.

Fortunately for her, her loudmouth blonde teammate and the impassive painter were not aware of the tiny slip up her wandering mind had caused and did not even cast a glance at her, still deeply involved in their one-sided argument which consisted of Naruto yelling furiously about a trivial matter whilst Sai read a book on "How to politely excuse yourself from a boring conversation."

Unfortunately for her, the teenager who clouded her thoughts was still as observant as ever, and had noticed the way her cheeks were tinged with a slight rosy hue, the colour on them darkening as she continued to dwell deeper in her own thoughts. He also didn't fail to observe how her eyes seemed to glaze over, her lids drooping slightly over her darkened irises. In particular, he scrutinized her slightly parted lips, how she suddenly adopted the unnatural habit of licking her lips frequently although they didn't appear too dry to begin with anyway.

He found this odd behaviour rather peculiar, he noticed that since his return a few weeks ago, his female teammate was something of a mystery to him. He didn't need his sharingan to notice that her smiles were not as gleeful as back in their genin days. Her emotions were more guarded nowadays, she no longer clung to him and confessed her undying love for him like the obsessed fan girl and disturbance she once was. It was odd for him to see her as anything more than a nuisance up until now, but he realised that as he continued training with team 7, there was more to this cherry-blossom than he assumed. She had grown from her once weak ways and adopted the mask of a shinobi, even at times when they weren't training her mask never slipped from her heart-shaped face.

So what was this peculiar expression she was wearing right now? His curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't help but wonder what on earth was going through Sakura's mind at that exact moment to make her adopt such an unfamiliar behaviour. After all, if something was on her mind it would affect their sparring sessions today and he did not want to waste his training sessions simply because Sakura couldn't focus. Although this was the first time he noticed such a strange expression on her face, if this continued the others would notice and this would only serve as a hindrance to the team. It would be best for her to solve this internal issue she had with herself as soon as possible before it affected the others. But since she didn't seem to be trying to solve this problem, he would have to step in.

Only sparing his two male teammates another glance, the Uchiha secretly activated his Sharingan to search into her mind. However, what he found in her imagination came to him as a shock.

And he wished he wasn't so curious in the first place.

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><p><strong>I'm ending it there for now.<strong>

**Please review! You all have no idea how happy I was when I checked my mail to see a whole load of reviews pouring in.**

**Yours Truly ~**


	2. A bruised ego

_Previous chapter:_

_"And he wished he wasn't so curious in the first place.:_

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><p><em><strong>Contagious thoughts ~<strong>_

Awkward.

That one word was the only description that could ever possibly capture the tension he felt as a result of sneaking a peek into her mind. The images of them being... so intimate with each other...with her delicate face all flustered; hair all tousled out on the imaginary bed she conjured flashed repetitively in his mind. It was very detailed; her imagination that is, and he couldn't help but be amazed that this naive girl (or so he thought) was capable of dreaming up such vulgar thoughts, of her own free will!

What surprised him the most was the facial expression he wore in her mind: blank. However, Sakura seemed to enjoy the lack of emotion on his face and seemed to be focusing on other extremely appealing areas he had - which he realised was also very well detailed as well: he wondered how often she gazed at his muscular body, and inwardly cursed himself for being too comfortable with her presence. After all, she was a fan girl at one point! But his lack of emotion in her imagination still troubled him.

A thought provoked the teenager: was this the best he could possibly be in her fantasies? Did he only appeal to her in this way now?

This notion triggered other possibilities and as an Uchiha, Sasuke always thinks all his options through: this dilemma was no exception. There was always the possibility that Sakura may have thought of him in that immature fan-girlish way similar to their Genin days; but he didn't see the gleam of a love-obsessed maniac in her eyes the way he saw it in many other's (like that Ino-girl or that messed up ex-teammate from team Hebi). So perhaps she had given up on seeing him in that light; it was about time too.

But now he was the source of all her lust? He didn't know how to react to it, so he just didn't. After all, wasn't lust quite similar to love? He'll just dismiss it using the same method he used on almost the whole of the female population: completely ignore them.

However, Sakura wasn't like the rest of the female population. On the night he left, he was quite certain that her love confession was genuine and she was perhaps the only female (other than his mother) that he actually cared about. But since she was his teammate, it was only natural for him to be concerned about her well-being. So perhaps their bond as teammates would make this issue about her perverted thoughts a little harder to deal with.

Yet now that he drifted back to those disturbing thoughts of him and Sakura doing unmentionable things; he was actually slightly upset.

Upset that she's thinking such forbidden thoughts about him?

Upset that his own teammate still holds some form of feeling towards him?

Upset about the fact that she's no longer innocently in love with him?

Wrong. Completely wrong.

It was pretty obvious that Sasuke did have a big ego. But Sakura's thoughts completely ruined it: her impression of him as a lover was appalling. He was capable of much much more; to think that her fantasy of him was so...limited. Seriously, this is Sasuke Uchiha she's daydreaming about, not your average hormone crazed teenager! He was far more superior to any other shinobi when it came to physical appearance, skills or intelligence. So it was only natural that he would be a far better lover than any other man. And definitely a much better bed-mate than his pink-haired teammate assumed!

In other words, he was upset that her idea of his intimate side was so poor.

He was insulted.

"Morning!"

His thoughts were broken by an awfully cheery Kakashi who poofed into the scenery.

Sasuke quickly (and inconspicuously) switched off his sharingan and casually glanced around; checking to see if any of his teammates noticed the presence of his red eyes in the first place. Kakashi seemed normal enough; with his orange prized possession held in one hand whilst his head rested on his other hand. His eyes continuously scanned the adult novel and crinkled in a cheeky manner as a feminine giggle escaped his lips. If he noticed Sasuke's sharingan, he sure didn't seem to make a big deal out of it.

The pale new kid (...was his name Sai?) was a mystery to him. A mystery he couldn't be bothered to solve. So Sasuke just disregarded the nonchalant look the new member wore. Sai seemed to lack any real facial expression anyway so even if he knew something, he probably wouldn't really give it away in the first place. Besides, who really cared if he knew? Sasuke sure didn't.

Naruto as usual was screaming profanities at their sensei for his lack of punctuality yet again, one could consider it a morning ritual. If Naruto – though Sasuke seriously doubted it, noticed anything out of the ordinary between himself or Sakura; he definitely would have screamed it out to the world by now. But for the moment, Naruto was too preoccupied with lecturing the Icha-Icha addict. For once, he found himself thankful for the loudmouth's presence, it sure did ease the awkward tension surrounding their team.

What was unusual though was that Sakura wasn't screaming with him.

Didn't she normally lecture Kakashi and verbally abuse him for his unconvincing excuses for consistently showing up late? This was very unusual on her part.

He turned to look at Sakura and once again wished he didn't.

She was staring right at him; horror written all over her face.

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><p><strong>I haven't updated in AGES. I am so sorry too! It's just that schools being a douche so I can't really update often but THAT'S ALRIGHT NOW because I'll be on holidays in a few days! So I'll be updating much more often (hopefully). <strong>

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Yours truly~**

**PS. I'm just going to keep it T-rated, this is as mature as it gets. THERE WILL BE NO LEMONS. :]**


	3. A warning

_Previous Chapter:_

_She was staring right at him; horror written all over her face._

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><p>If there was one thing Sakura felt like doing now, it was crawling into a hole and being left there to die.<p>

Because death seemed to be the easiest option.

Of all times to let her thoughts slip, he **had **to look then! Now she had the whole day to wallow in her embarrassment and invent some terrible excuses for such explicit thoughts.

'_And that's just today…what about tomorrow? What about the rest of my life?'_

But then again, she couldn't be too sure that he had managed read into her thoughts. He was just looking at her; his Sharingan wasn't activated from what she saw. He may have merely glanced at her at the wrong time, and wondered what she was daydreaming about! Surely, that must be it!

Yet we all know, Sasuke has always been too observant for his own good. He might not have even needed to use his Sharingan to read her mind.

It was at this moment that Sakura decided: not knowing if Sasuke knew about her thoughts was far scarier than actually knowing if he did.

So now, instead of having to make excuses for thinking of her male teammate in such a vulgar way, she'd _also _have to think of an excuse as to why she stared at him the way she did.

Because he seemed to be staring right at her, right at this moment.

And Sakura didn't need a mirror to know that her face must be burning with horror and shame, of course horror being the more dominant emotion (since she'd rather not assume that he knew what she was thinking).

A small wave of relief washed over the kunoichi; at least after giving some lame excuse she can pretend it never happened. That she never thought of any intimate with Sasuke around him; he never turned to look at her when she was in such a state. Maybe they could both forget about this day…

But there was still one thing she didn't have knowledge of: did he use the sharingan or any other method to actually confirm that she was fantasizing about him? Because if he did, he surely wasn't giving off any hints; his facial expression was still that of a rock.

Until a smirk grew on his face.

And she just knew hell was coming her way.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's voice broke her thoughts, "Are you alright?"

"I noticed that you've been acting quite odd today Ugly," Sai piped in.

If anything, Sasuke's smirk grew bigger.

"SAKURA-CHAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"Naruto I'm fine!" she reassured, "I was thinking of stupid things. It won't happen again," she spared a small glance towards Sasuke whose grin was wiped off his face.

"In that case, we shouldn't waste any more time here when we could be sparring." Kakashi's eye crinkled,

"BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T NOTICE SAKURA-CHAN ACTING WEIRD!" Naruto exclaimed,

"Dickless, it's probably because you couldn't stop talking to me about… what were you talking about?"

"You weren't listening to my ramen adventures AGAIN?"

"Even Ugly is more interesting than you," Sai glances at her, "and she's…Ugly,"

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT SAKURA-CHAN! I'M TAKING YOU DOWN! Sensei, I'm sparring with Sai today!"

At first, the kunoichi was worried, however she soon realized that there would be no reason why the Uchiha would want to spar with her. She'd expect him to spar with Kakashi, seeing as he'd put up more of a fight than she would.

But then again, he was being rather unpredictable today.

What was up with the grin he –?

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto's random outburst caused Sakura to take a step back inadvertently…

Straight into Sasuke.

"Careful Sakura," he whispered; the low husky tone of his voice send tingles down her neck. He gripped her arms with his hands; pulled her back flush against his toned chest to steady her; masking her floral fragrance in his own masculine scent; the warmth of his body embracing her own. She tried to pull herself out of these wandering thoughts but it was so hard to given their close proximity; the rough texture of his fingers grasping her arms, him breathing on her.

If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he was seducing her.

"You shouldn't daydream so much," Saske spoke once again, in the same tone, "or else you might get distracted and I might take advantage of that during our spar."

"He's right," Kakashi agreed, either completely oblivious to the double meaning of Sasuke's words or just plain ignoring it.

Probably the latter.

"Or," Sasuke whispered into her hair, too softly for the rest of the world to hear his warning. "I might just take advantage of you."

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated any of my stories in ages! I'm on holiday at the moment, but I need to study too so I should be updating a couple more times this week and the next.**

**I lied. It's probably about to get a lot more mature. But when that happens, I'll change the rating.**

**REVIEW FOR MORE! (They give me strength?)**

**Yourstruly~**


	4. Strike 1

**You must all be wondering, what happened to the author's note? Well, a few people suggested a great idea that I've decided to go along with (yes, you people should pat yourselves on the back). So all I need is someone to write the lemons for me when necessary. But I'll let you all know when that is coming.**

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><p>When Kakashi, Naruto and Sai abandoned the poor kunoichi to train that morning; Sakura couldn't have felt more vulnerable.<p>

What's worse was that Sasuke was still behind her.

'_How on Earth did he get there so quickly without me noticing? I swear I would have at least felt him move, but it was as though he teleported…'_

"Well you'll just have to spar with me to find out a few of my…" he nuzzled her neck and whispered huskily, "_secrets._"

And one that note, he disappeared.

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><p>A feeling of fear and excitement with a slight touch of desire grew in Sakura; and she found that she couldn't resist not going for a spar if only out of curiosity of Sasuke's plans.<p>

She threw a punch at his abdominals, hoping to wind him. His response was a mere side-stepping of her attack, but he couldn't resist gently stroking her outstretched arm as he moved pass her and whispering a "You'll have to do better than that,"

It almost entertained him to see how flustered she would get from all his little actions: one touch would produce a blush; a whisper would paralyze her body. He had decided that if she were to think such naughty thoughts about him, he must show her that her fantasies wouldn't do him justice. Sure he may still be a virgin, but shouldn't it be obvious that if he had the technique, brains and strength in battle; he would also have such features in bed?

Sakura was about to perform a roundhouse kick when her target flash stepped to her left and grabbed her raised leg; his touches sending tingles as his fingers lightly brushed her ankles before gradually running his rough fingertips up her smooth calf–

WHAM.

While Sasuke was so absorbed in the soft texture of his partner's skin; he did not notice the kunoichi swinging her right leg clockwise; slamming her heel straight into the side of his head, sending him reeling into a nearby tree.

Nor did he notice the glint of desire that flashed through her emerald eyes.

The burning pain in his head was almost immediately soothed with a flow of cool chakra as his head was caressed by the medic's touch. Soon, his clouded vision was replaced with pink as his teammate knelt in front of him and tended to the headache she caused. The sweet fragrance of her shampoo filled his nose; at this moment his body wanted to drown all its senses in this woman.

Woah.

When did her company ever affect him?

"Okay. I think that's enough sparring for today," she murmured, withdrawing her hands from his face.

He may not have known how his teammate's presence was able to ignite such a reaction in him,

But he knew that he would not let her go unpunished for doing so.

She suddenly found her back pushed against the tree that Sasuke was leaning against moments before. Said person had pressed his body tightly against hers; so she could feel the rippling pectorals under his shirt. His lips brushed her neck, fanning that patch of skin with his heavy breathing.

However, that was not the only thing she could feel.

"Wh-what are you doing?" her voice squeaked, she inwardly scolded herself for the lack of control she had over her voice, let alone the lack of control she had over her body which seemed to be arching into his.

Unfortunately, he also noticed this.

She felt him smirking deviously on her neck as he murmured a sarcastic, "As if you don't enjoy this."

Her face flushed a pink which was so bright that it would put her hair to shame. _'Even when he's being sarcastic, he's sexy–'_

He growled lowly, "You better control those thoughts of yours, because I don't think I'll be able to control myself if you keep seducing me like this," he nibbled her neck to prove his point.

"I'm…I'm not seducing y-you!" her voice sounded so choked with all the emotions that surfaced.

The timidity of her voice only served to heighten the lust he felt. He bit down on her neck, eliciting a strangled gasp from her lips at the sudden roughness he displayed. Slipping both his hands between the lower part of the kunoichi's back and the tree that she was anchored onto, he grabbed her clothed cheeks and grinded himself on her; causing an even louder moan to erupt from her lips.

As he sucked the area of her neck that he bit mercilessly and grinded himself on her, Sakura tried to move her hands to push him away yet her body would not respond to her will. It was as though she was paralyzed from the rush of feelings he sparked in her.

But Sakura knew that if she let him get away with this, she would be left to wallow in her regret afterwards.

'_I have to stop this now, before it gets to a point where we can't go back,'_

"No," he whispered fiercely, "don't stop this. We both know you want this; and since you seduced me you have to go through with it," the passion in his voice alerted her of the seriousness of their actions.

She could feel him – in more ways than one; that terrified her.

Not only was she able to feel his touches, but his desire had also managed to seep into her. She could feel how aroused he was; how determined he was to have his way with her, by force if necessary – and this frightened her even more.

'_Is this Sasuke?' _she closed her eyes to stop the tears that were about to come streaming down her cheeks, _'Would he force himself on me? I don't want this! I'm….I'm so scared…'_

All of a sudden, he stopped all his actions and pulled his lips away from where they were hungrily devouring her neck to see her trembling face. He gently rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "Consider this your first strike Sakura." She nodded weakly.

Sasuke sighed and moved his hands from her bottom to wrap around her waist, "Just… don't seduce me with your thoughts and actions, okay?"

She replied with another weak nod, too scared to point out that she actually hadn't done any of those things intentionally.

Sasuke was not one to apologise; so instead he switched off his Sharingan (that he didn't realise he still had activated) and held her in his arms as tenderly as he was capable of doing so; letting her tears soak his shirt.

Sakura could not believe the irony of the situation: she was being comforted by the man who made her cry. Yet she couldn't bring herself to ponder over that thought. The Sasuke she knew and adored was here; her teammate who would always protect her without a moment's hesitation.

And it was this Sasuke that she had fallen in love with.

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><p><strong>Yeahh, I know this writing was very…passionate, but I'm only comfortable with writing descriptions of them with their <strong>**clothes on****. Nothing more…SORRY!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**REVIEW!**

**Yourstruly~**


	5. Sasuke's Soliloquy

What on earth was he doing?

Violating Sakura like that, Sasuke could almost chidori himself for acting so rashly. Of course, it wasn't his fault that he moved on impulse; with the way Sakura was seducing him with her soft touches; her alluring scent; those pure, defenceless eyes. No other man would have held back, so why should he?

But that didn't excuse him from letting his hormones (which never really existed until Sakura pursued them). He was an Uchiha for goodness sake, and this was Sakura he was talking about. He shouldn't have been selfish; it only resulted in her being afraid of him. This could only have a negative effect on their team and the others were bound to notice.

Yet, was he being selfish? Didn't she want the same thing too?

It all started with _her _filthy mind; if she hadn't had such impure thoughts, this may not have awakened _that _side of him. He personally had never willingly had such an intimate form of physical contact (unless one would consider that stupid kiss with the dobe; but he repaid that with excessive physical abuse) because he had never considered anyone he met to be worthy of such attention from him.

Okay, that was a lie. Of course at one point when they were younger, Sasuke's bonds had been important to him (and they still are, or he wouldn't be here today). He had always made it his duty to protect their kunoichi above all costs since she was – at the time, too weak to do so herself and Naruto was more likely to end up hurting her if he attempted to protect her. This not only gave him a good enough reason to care for her wellbeing, but also to let her break through his barriers; in order for him to protect her to the best of his abilities she would need to mean something to him.

After spending some time with Sakura when they were younger, Sasuke began to see the reasons why Rock Lee and Naruto had chased after her endlessly. Sure the two of them were illogical, but they were not afraid to express what they felt; the strong emotions of love that they constantly sent towards her had eventually lured his own feelings to gradually surface (before he realised how much of a distraction they were). Although he would deny this in the open, it was unnecessary to deceive oneself of such feelings.

So yes, there was one – and only one person that he could have ever imagined performing such intimate actions with. Of course he wouldn't force himself on her if she was unwilling.

But to think she had thought such actions with him, on her own.

He had attempted to resist initiating such contact because he prioritized his training and sparring above all else; only intending to drop some hints that he had seen her fantasy and use it against her to defeat her quickly; that way he may have been able to spar with Kakashi as well later on. But when she was caressing his wounds; his thoughts about training vanished and he released his inner lust that he didn't realise wasn't just for blood.

He continued his passionate actions when Sakura had shown her enjoyment in them. So it wasn't unexpected that he'd be angry when she tried to stop the contact. Why did she have to be so indecisive at such an inappropriate time?

Of course, he had no idea – being so caught up in the lust of it all, that the reason she halted any further movements was because she was afraid of this side of him. It was only when he read her thoughts and heard the fear behind those words; was Sasuke pulled out of his blind state of passion.

In their genin days, when he was overwhelmed by the power of the curse seal, Sakura was the one to pull him out of his state. This time, when he was overwhelmed by lust and passion, it was Sakura again who had managed to pull him out of this state.

But the difference was that back then he had drowned himself in power to protect her from the Sound ninjas, but this time he had wanted to submerge all of his senses in her.

Sasuke was not one to let his emotions take control of his actions; but the only time he let his feelings overrule his actions was if he felt strongly enough about it. Sasuke rarely felt strongly about anything unless it was important to him. For instance, his lust for power had lead him to let the curse seal possess his body; his determination to complete his goals had lead him to leave this village behind.

So could whatever feelings he had for Sakura have lead him to fervently ravish the kunoichi.

Was Sakura important enough for him to feel something for?

"Teme, if you don't eat that I'll –"

"Hn. I don't care," he pushed his bowl towards Naruto and was about to continue his soliloquy when…

"Sakura-chan's been acting weird,"

"…" he wondered if Naruto had a secret sharingan or byakugan.

"She doesn't seem to want to spend any time with us outside training," the disappointed look on Naruto's face made Sasuke realise just how badly an effect this incident between himself and Sakura was having on his teammates, even Sai had refrained from calling her ugly these few days.

"She just keeps giving the same old excuses about shifts at the hospital," Naruto slurped the soup in his ramen, "I know baa-chan wouldn't overwork her favourite apprentice! So what's really going on with her…?"

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><p>If Sakura's 'fantasies' and 'seduction techniques' for Sasuke were able to have an effect on team 7 now, he would have to put an end to them before things got too out of hand and become very serious.<p>

He cannot afford to allow her to jeopardise their team's lives due to her lack of control over her hormones. Since nobody else knew the cause for Sakura's odd behaviour it was Sasuke's job – as a team member, to sort her out and put her in her place.

With this thought in mind, Sasuke resolved to confront her in the hospital on this issue. After all, why should they prolong it any longer? It's been two days since the 'incident' and he wasn't sure how determined Sakura was to busy herself with all these hospital shifts.

When he walked into the hospital, he blatantly ignored all the fangirls-turned-nurses that were ogling him and briskly walked towards his teammate's office.

He knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Sakura's sweet voice rang from within her room, Sasuke – already slowly regretting his decision but had too much pride to back out now, opened the door…

And found Sakura bent over her desk in her nurse's uniform.

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><p><strong>REVIEW. :)<strong>


	6. Sakura's Sorrow

Sakura had just risen from her seat to put the medical books she was studying back in the shelf when the door knocked.

"Come in!"

She had then realised that she had left one of the books on the side further away from her on the table, so naturally she turned around from the shelf and reached over to retrieve it (not realising the provocative position she was in).

On hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, she turned her head to see who was the visitor.

Her eyes widened in shock.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Her body snapped up straight as she quickly turned to shove the book in the shelf. Upon facing the cabinet of medical encyclopaedias, her back suddenly felt warm from heat radiating behind her.

Body heat.

"Sakura," her teammate murmured, his breath making the skin on her neck crawl with anticipation. She shivered – whether in fear or excitement she couldn't tell, and he seemed to notice this.

"Cold?" He asked aloud, but she didn't respond. Instead, the medic had opted to run to the other side of the room…away from him.

He sighed in fustration, "I won't hurt you Sakura," he slowly made his way towards her, causing her to inch closer to the door., "don't you trust me enough?"

He immediately regretted those words.

"Trust?" Sakura said, "The last time I trusted you, you–"

"Sakura-sama?" a young nurse knocked on the door timidly, waiting for permission to enter.

Sakura composed herself and walked over to the door, opening it with a slightly uneasy smile on her face, sure she would be eternally grateful to whoever it was on the other side, but she couldn't help feeling slightly apprehensive when she thought about what may happen afterwards.

All the while Sasuke was slowly inching up on the pink-haired kunoichi who – facing their unwelcomed visitor, had her back to him.

"Yes?" she asked in a business-like voice,

She noticed the eyes of the younger nurse staring at the spot behind her with a faint blush on her cheeks; Sakura's eyes narrowed sharply at this, "What is the problem?"

"Is that…"she seemed hesitant to ask, but unfortunately did anyway, "is that Sasuke Uchiha?"

'_Where is all this courage coming from all of a sudden? One minute she was all shy and now she's bold enough to ask questions that don't concern her!"_

"What," Sakura repeated in a harsher tone, "is the matter, nurse?"

"I…" she closed her eyes and looked away, "perhaps we should discuss this in private?"

Sakura was about to move towards the door to continue this conversation when two hands snaked themselves around her waist and pulled her body back into a hard, chiselled chest. She was immediately enveloped in the warmth of Sasuke's body; her senses overdosed in him and his masculine scent. She involuntarily relaxed into his frame and leaned into him ever so slightly.

"As we are close team-members," Sasuke stated formally,

'…_Close? Since when?'_

"There shouldn't be a problem with stating any medical-related matters with myself an audience."

"But Sasuke–" Sakura began but was silenced by the tightening of his arms around her waist.

"Think about it Sakura," Sasuke whispered quietly into her left ear, "The Hokage released me from house arrest a year ago and allowed me back into the team. She clearly saw me fit enough to help out my team members," Sakura looked uncertainly at the nurse, whose blush darkened on her cheeks upon witnessing Sasuke's unpredicted display of intimacy.

"If your Shishou can trust me to help, can't you?"

Sakura knew that Sasuke was only holding her here so that he could get her alone again and perhaps discuss whatever he had wanted to discuss when he showed up in her office moments ago.

But he did have a point.

"I'd prefer for us to discuss whatever issue you have here and now, if you don't mind," which clearly hinted to the nurse that it was best that she 'didn't mind.'

"Well…it's just that…ummm…" the nurse was stalling, and it was getting quite annoying. But Sakura understood that the unexpected presence of another person when the nurse had requested for a private conversation may affect what she was going to say.

Unfortunately Sasuke didn't understand.

"If you have nothing to say," Sasuke stated in his arrogant tone, "then don't waste Sakura's time."

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed angrily, "Let her say her peace! She probably didn't expect you to be so anal about not letting me leave _my _office to have a conversation,"

"Why should my presence here have any impact on what _she's_ about to say?" Sasuke growled,

"Nurse," Sakura said politely, "please excuse him. I'd prefer that you state your business here and then leave without any further delay."

"Umm okay," the nurse looked down at her feet uncertainly and spoke, "The hospital shifts from 9am-3pm are getting more strenuous and us nurses have not been able to work to the best of our ability consistently in all our shifts… so we were wondering if it was possible for you to shorte–"

"How long are _your _shifts Sakura?"

"Sasuke!"

"Just answer the question."

"Well after lunch I get here at around 1 in the afternoon and work until 11 or sometimes 12am,"

The nurse's eyes widened at Sakura's diligence.

"As the Hokage's apprentice she should be beside the Hokage aiding in running the village smoothly," Sasuke glared at the girl, "Instead she's here doing your job for twice as long and with twice as much skill after intense training sessions with her team. If anyone should be reducing the duration of their shift, it should be her."

Before Sakura had a chance to justify Sasuke's lecture, the nurse nodded dumbly and apologised; sprinting out of the door. "Now," Sasuke spun his teammate round to face him,

"Where were we?"

* * *

><p>It was 9 in the evening when Sakura emerged from the operating room, but she hadn't noticed the time nor did she notice the workers who watched her drag her feet back to her office with concerned eyes.<p>

It was only when she shut herself in the safety of her office and locked the door, did she finally allow the walls that she had built separating her emotions from her medical work. As one fat tear tumbled down her cheek, she ended up releasing all the sorrow she had felt in the last 2 hours in an ocean of tears. Covering her trembling lips to stifle her sobs, Sakura slowly rested her back against the door and slid slowly until she was sitting on the floor with her knees up to her chest.

'_How could I have let this happen? She was all he had left; she was the only family, the only friend he ever had. She was everything to him. And I let her die. I ruined his life.'_

Sakura thought back to when the young brown haired boy had burst through the entrance and sprinted across the hallway with his injured sister in his arms, screaming for someone – anyone, to rescue her. How determined he was to save her, how he would have given his life for her.

And how she had given her life to protect him in that fire.

They were no older than twelve years old, still too young to bear witness to the cruelty of the world. Since little, when their parents abandoned them; their lives were only dedicated to each other. Today was the girl's birthday, and he had wanted to cook a special meal for her. However, his attempt to make her day special resulted in a fire which set alight their small house. She tried to protect him, which left her suffering from 3rd degree burns.

The boy reminded her of Naruto so much that it hurt: his eyes had that fiery light to them; you could just tell that he had gone through more than any other kid. It was inspiring yet heat-breaking to see how he had desperately wished for everything to be okay, that despite everything that had happened in his life, he still believed that there would be a happy ending for him and his sister.

He was like Naruto in too many ways.

And to think, Sakura had just made his life worse.

Unfortunately, Sakura was never given the opportunity to see what the girl he treasured so much was like: her burns were too severe. Was she like Sakura when she was twelve? No. That was impossible. Nobody would have been willing to give their life for her when she was younger, and probably not now either.

"How sure are you of that?"

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><p><strong>I was listening to a really sad instrumental so maybe that influenced my writing.<strong>

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	7. Mistakes

"How did you get in here?"

"I was already in here," Sasuke replied walking towards her, his Sharingan wheeling.

"Get out," Sakura attempted to keep herself composed, "I'm not in the mood to be judged by you."

"Yet here you are," Sasuke sat on her right, his back leaning on the door. "judging yourself."

She closed her eyes, silently pleading for some privacy. She just wanted to be alone, to get away from _everything_ and just have some time to think…

"Now is the worst time for you to be left alone with your thoughts."

"Why?" She clenched her fists tightly, "Why do you keep reading my mind?"

"It was always for the right reasons." he sighed, resting his head on the door and looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"_The right reasons!_" she laughed at the irony, "so you honestly think that _now _would be the right time to read my mind? I've just had the worst shift of my life and you would invade my privacy _now_?" He closed his eyes as he responded,

"If it would keep you safe, yes." When she didn't speak, his left eye-lid fluttered open.

To see her trembling even more.

Then he realised,

_I'd give my own life if I have to! If it would keep her safe!_

That boy had spoken those words too.

"We both meant it. And we still do."

"How do you know that?" She turned her face to the right to look into his eyes. Her emerald orbs silently begging, but she didn't know what for.

"He'd hate you. For a long time." Sasuke stated softly, not backing away from their proximity.

Water began collecting in her eyes again.

"But he'll end up thanking you for the rest of his life."

The certainty behind his words comforted her, and that was when she realised what she was begging for from him.

Forgiveness.

She now truly understood why she was so troubled by herself not being able to save that young girl.

"You know his pain," Sakura whispered, "You know the loneliness he feels."

"No." Sasuke cut her off firmly,

"But you both watched the people most important to you die!"

"She didn't die by your hands, Sakura,"

All this time the kunoichi had hoped so badly that she wasn't responsible for the girl's death, but she knew the heart-breaking truth: she was.

To that boy, she was just as bad as–

"You're not like Itachi. And even if you were, you should be proud. Itachi was a good person. It took me a long time to realise that. But when I did, I knew my life had been a lie. Even if Konoha," he spat out the village's name as though it was a disease, "was the root of all the lies in my life. I knew that the one solid thing I could believe in was team 7."

Sakura was astonished. He just opened up to her, clearly to make her feel less vulnerable about this situation they were in.

"So he'll thank you in the end."

She nodded and smiled gratefully, "Thank you."

"And if that doesn't work, Naruto's there talking to him right now."

"What?" She bolted straight up and was about to grab the doorknob when she was yanked downwards into Sasuke's lap. He wrapped his arms around her tightly to hold her in place.

"Naruto can handle it." He murmured, "We still have unfinished business."

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback:<span>_

"_Now, where were we?"_

_Her back was pressed to the door but before she could escape, an arm implanted itself on the door and Sasuke was a lot closer than she remembered him being. With one arm above her head, he leaned forward to–_

_WHAM!_

_She kneed his groin and ran away from the door, away from him. She was so caught up in not being captured by the Uchiha that as she sprinted to the other side of the door, she did not realise how Sasuke wasn't actually running after her. Maybe he hadn't chased her yet due to the critical blow to his groin._

"_Sakura," he growled, causing said person to turn around while still moving in the same direction…_

_And bump into the table._

"_Ouch!" Sakura yelp as her back landed harshly on the table. Sasuke was on her in an instant, he straddled her and pinned her arms above her head. She would have expected to receive a playful or luscious glint in his eye like last time, but his face was purely serious._

"_It's affecting the team."_

"_What is?" _

_As a response, he leaned forward so their noses slightly brushed; grinded his hips while he was sitting on her in turn making her moan. He didn't bother hiding the satisfied smirk that inched its way onto his face. _

"_This," he kissed the hickey on her neck that he had left from their previous meeting and nibbled slightly, indulging in the pleasurable sound of her moan. _

"_How," her breathing was heavy, "How are we affecting them?"_

_Sasuke spoke hotly into her ear, "It's no surprise that your tainted thoughts have been distracting you from your duties as a member of team 7." He nibbled her ear to prove his point, "I assumed that if I gave you a taste of your fantasy," he licked her exposed neck slowly, savouring her taste on his buds. "You'd be satisfied, cease your thoughts, and maybe things could go back to normal again. But no!" he blew harshly at the saliva stained area of her neck, making Sakura cringe from the cold air. "You tried to avoid spending more time with us than necessary."_

"_I-I did no such thing!" _

"_Even Naruto noticed!" Sasuke exclaimed, his obsidian irises burning with anger for her need to lie to him._

"_SAKURA-SAMA! SAKURA-SAMA! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"_

_Upon hearing a foreign voice, Sasuke realised their conversation would have to end here for now. He got off the kunoichi and pulled her up from the table. "This isn't over," he warned as he released his hold on her._

_Sakura quickly bolted out of the door, whether it was to reach the operating room and rescue the patient (which was unsuccessful as we all know) or just to get away from him, she had no idea._

* * *

><p>"What do you want from me Sasuke?" Sakura's whole body froze when she realised the position they were in, he was sitting against the wall with her nestled in between his legs, his muscular arms wrapped around her; pressing her back into his chest.<p>

"Not anything your imagining, I assure you." He said in his typical monotone.

"Then why are we sitting like this?"

"Do you not like this?"

She couldn't reply, because he would know a lie the moment it escaped her lips. Of course she wanted this, didn't every girl dream of being with **the **Sasuke Uchiha like this?

But didn't every girl also get rejected by the very same Sasuke Uchiha?

"Why are you acting like this? I could get a restraining order from you if you keep stalking me…"

"Isn't this what you want though? For me to touch you," he held her closer to him, "to _hold _you like this?"

"Since when does what I want matter?"

"Since I realised that maybe I could give you something you want for once."

She turned in his arms, so that she was in a kneeling position with their faces merely centimetres apart. Sakura gazed into the depths of his charcoal coated irises in hopes of reading him, but as usual she couldn't find anything in them,

So he was probably telling the truth.

"You would do such a thing…for me?"

Sasuke sighed and rested his head on her shoulder, "When I first read your mind before training, I wanted to know what was bothering you and if it would disturb your focus in sparring. I didn't expect…" Sakura blushed at the explicit details that he must have gawked at seeing in her mind. He must have been really shocked.

"I realised that your feelings for me were lustful now," Sakura wanted to interrupt him and tell him how wrong he was. How her feelings were even clearer to her now than they ever were–

"So it was easier for me to satisfy you like this."

"Sasuke, you don't understand how I rea–"

"This lust was easier for me to return, and you know I wouldn't have done this if I was against it."

'_So he wanted this too?'_

"But I didn't expect you to avoid us afterwards. That's why I'm here." He leaned his forehead on hers and trapped her eyes with his, "If this is going to affect our team, then it will stop. So you don't need to hide from me, I won't do anything anymore. Just pretend it never happened."

A moment of silence followed.

Then another.

And another.

"So that's why you're here?" she suddenly blurted out in rage, "to tell me to act as though it wasn't _you _who made the marks on my neck? That you didn't violate me and sabotaged my privacy?" She broke away from his grip and stood up. He let her go.

"That you didn't feel what I feel?" Sasuke stood up.

"Sakura, don't overreact. It's for the sake of the team…"She unlocked the door and glared at him viciously, hate swirling around in her irises. All of a sudden, she smiled.

"You're right, I shouldn't overreact. You never felt the same way about me!" She opened the door.

"I would never be able to love you the way you want me to."

Sakura's eyes widened as she sprinted away from her office, the place that was meant to be her sanctuary, yet only served to be another reminder of yet another mistake.

Little did she know, the only mistake she truly made that day was running away.

"But that doesn't mean I don't love you."

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><p><strong>Hope this made up for the last chapter.<strong>

**REVIEW.**


	8. Expect the Unexpected

"Sakura-chan, how have your hospital shifts been going?"

It had been 2 weeks since what she could call the worst day of her life, and it's only been going uphill: like Iruka was to Naruto, Naruto had become a person the young boy looked up to. Her teammate had even told her that the boy was staying in his place so he wouldn't have to be alone without his sister. Though, she wondered how they could both survive in such a cramped up room.

As for her issue with Sasuke, she had been handling that surprisingly well. _"I can't love you the way you want me to," _those words had broken her heart beyond repair, but at least now she knew that her feelings weren't returned. Sure, her heart aches whenever her eyes sweep over him and what could've been, yet if anything – Sakura actually felt grateful that he decided to pretend it never happened.

It was affecting not only herself, but everyone around her.

At least now, she could let him go with the knowledge that they could never cross that line that separates friendship and romance.

"Well, they have been pretty hectic, but I'm glad I can squeeze out of the schedule to chill with you guys." And to be honest, she really was. No matter how much had happened in the past weeks, she didn't regret anything except the fact that she had let Sasuke's fling with her damage her relationship with team 7.

Naruto grinned widely and engulfed the pink haired kunoichi in a bone crushing hug. Instead of wiping the floor with him like she normally would, Sakura opted to return his overdramatic embrace by wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Naruto, I have to go now."

"Are you going back to the hospital?' A pout appeared on his whiskered face, "You're married to your job aren't you?"

"I'm going home you baka!" she ruffled his hair affectionately, _'He's the bestest friend I could ever have. Why did I ever treat him so terribly in the past?'_

"Let me walk you home!"

"You've done enough for me already!" Sakura stood up from her seat at Ichiraku's, "Don't you think I'm capable of walking home on my own?"

Naruto sighed, "Okay… well goodnight Sakura-chan!"

She smiled widely at the blonde who turned around to gobble the remains of his ramen. She was thankful for Naruto trusting her enough to let her walk home alone. She wasn't a baby who needed tending to at every moment; she was a strong lady who could manage fine without being constantly protected.

Unfortunately, not everyone agreed.

* * *

><p>She had taken a detour from her usual route to her abode and wound up at the bench where her heart was truly broken for the first time. She honestly had no idea why her feet guided her to this haunting landmark of her childhood, yet she didn't have the heart to walk away from that place.<p>

So she sat down on the bench and tried to come up with any possible reasons as to why she decided to visit the place where all her depression began instead of sharing a heartfelt laugh with the boy that suffered just as badly as she did from Sasuke's departure.

There was no nagging feeling of emptiness weighing down on her chest, to her surprise. No tears leaked from her eyes, no waves of nostalgia. This reunion with the bench wasn't quite like she had imagined.

Perhaps it was because he had told her outright that he couldn't love her, and that she had finally accepted it? Perhaps she was just waiting for that one last bit of confirmation so she could complete move on to a better direction in her life instead of wallowing in the 'what if's'?

Perhaps she had already moved on, and this bench was just a mere sign of her weakness when she was younger?

She was inspecting the flowers that blossomed around the bench, her fingers stroking, caressing the soft sun-kissed petals as the moonlight danced on their smooth surface. Why would she trouble herself over that bastard of an Uchiha when she could be admiring the beauty of the tulips that resided here?

Unexpectedly (or maybe as expected) her ears picked up the sound of heavy footsteps that hurried in her direction yet she chose not to move. She knew he was there, and she couldn't be bothered to stop him from doing what he had to do.

He deserved that much.

She closed her eyes and waited for the 'pitter-patter' of his feet to grow louder – which it did, and her body tensed in anticipation for whatever action he decided to make.

"You MURDERER!" was the first two words to escape his snarled lips, "you're supposed to be THE BEST medical ninja! Even better than the Hokage herself!"

She silently agreed with him.

"But you couldn't even save her!" he yelled, the hurt and grief in his voice digging holes in her already bruised heart. She heard the sound of an object – presumably a kunai, being pulled out of the boy's pocket; the silence that followed only served to notify her of his hesitation to follow through with his plan, which caused anger to boil inside of him. Why should he be hesitating? He shouldn't even think of sparing her life, not when she was responsible for not being able to save the life of his sister.

Yet what she hadn't realised was that the young child had not stopped due to hesitation.

"What do you think you're doing?" A smooth yet sinister voice cut through the stilled air, swiping at the tension that surfaced as Sakura awaited her death. She opened her eyes in surprise at the man that saved her life even though she was willing to give it away.

Sakura wasn't sure if he was talking to her or her almost murderer.

"S-sasuke Uchih-ha?" the boy stuttered, the kunai in his hand was released and met the ground.

"Naruto would be ashamed of you," Sasuke narrowed his eyes sharply at the child, who bowed his head in apology and ran for his life.

Sakura looked away from him, her hands shaking from those words he had spoken.

'_Sasuke was talking to both of us…wasn't he?'_

Said person sat down beside her, too close for comfort. She could feel the raw anger that radiated from his calm aura; even with her eyes closed, she knew his glare was directed at her; stabbing at the walls of her comfort zone.

And for the first time, Sakura had actually wanted to get away from him.

"You're not leaving until you answer me." Was his sharingan activated? Or was she just that easy to read? "What do you think you're doing, Sakura?"

"Nothing." Was her curt reply. Which ironically was true, she didn't make any attempt to prevent her death. In all fact, she welcomed it.

"You are..."

She turned to look at him - the way a disobedient dog would to their master, but all expectations of a long lecture escaped her mind when she gazed into his black eyes, and watched the fondness (for her?) swirling around in his obsidian orbs. He stared intently into her emerald eyes in return, thinking of the right words to say to describe her at this instant. After all, she had just willingly given her life to a boy who had taken it up as his goal to kill her and avenge his sister. One would have expected her to at least try to talk him out of it instead of just sitting there, but Sakura was so filled with grief that she believed that if her death would make up for his grief, then she would welcome it with open arms.

With that being said, Sasuke knew the best words that would describe his teammate.

"...a selfish bitch."

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><p><strong>One Dirty Thought should be reaching its ending soon! Thank you everyone who's supported this story!<strong>

**REVIEW.**


	9. Believing

**I know. Shoot me. I said I'd update quickly but I didn't. SORRY!**

**By the way, the next chapter is the final chapter, so thank you EVERYONE who has supported me throughout this story! This journey's almost over, and I'm glad I had you guys accompany me through this!**

* * *

><p>"…a selfish bitch."<p>

She was stunned. Sasuke had never really insulted her outside of her skills (like when he calls her weak; lacking in training; slow) and when he did insult her it was just his trademark word 'Annoying.' Besides, Sasuke may be rude, but he would never use such foul cuss words on anybody! He was brought up – seeing as he's an Uchiha, the proper way; therefore such vulgar words would never be formed on his tongue. His responses were always controlled and well thought through.

So to be called a bitch was definitely not what she had expected.

He must have been infuriated at her.

When Sakura made no means to justify her lack of action towards her potential murderer, Sasuke took it as his cue to continue. "You would throw away your life because of an unavoidable death?"

Sakura flinched at his words, and how they made her sound even more ridiculous.

"You would dispose of your life without even thinking of the consequences?"

But to be honest, Sakura had the consequences in mind the whole time: that boy would have been content and he could move on in life. Sure she would be missed, but it wasn't as though she was anyone's most important person:

Naruto would miss her greatly seeing as they were best friends, but when Sasuke returned it seemed that he had managed to fulfil his rightful spot as the knucklehead's most trusted and valued companion. If he still hoped to share a romantic bond with her, then her death would have helped him move on and find a kunoichi (preferably a Hyuuga) who is actually worthy of his love.

Tsunade would be devastated, but without Sakura around maybe this would make her more independent and actually do her own paperwork.

Kakashi had never truly seen her as a prized pupil so there wasn't much that he would have lost.

Let's not even discuss Sai.

Ino – a friend that she had grown to admire and respect, may be miserable at first: but perhaps after a while (Sakura was sure it wouldn't take long) Ino would realise that with Sakura gone, she could actually make a move on the Uchiha they had both fought so hard over and who knows? Maybe her and Sasuke would be a great couple.

As for Sasuke…

"It's obvious that you don't value your friendships, if you were able to so easily choose death."

Sakura was about to argue when the look in his eyes silenced her,

"Naruto would never get over it. He'd punish himself for the rest of his life."

His words were so true that they hurt.

"Tsunade," he moved closer to her until their thighs brushed and spoke in a lower tone, "would drink herself into oblivion. When drunk, she could make the wrong decisions that could affect the rest of Konoha."

Sakura's hands trembled violently as the weight of the consequences of her death slowly buried her.

Sasuke – seeing Sakura's rising anger at herself; placed his hand atop hers in an attempt to soothe her enough so that she would be calm enough to let him finish his 'speech.'

"Kakashi would have lost a daughter – and he'd be even later than usual," anyone else who wasn't in team 7 would have laughed because they didn't understand Kakashi's real reason for never showing up for training on time. Only a few knew of the graves that he visited and silently mourned over every morning.

"Many lives would be lost without the help of a skilled medic-nin..."

"You're one to talk." Sakura mumbled quietly, but not quietly enough.

"What?"

The kunoichi – sick of being reprimanded; turned to face the pale skinned Uchiha, unshed tears threatening to leak out of the corner of her defiant eyes. She would not just sit there and let him preach to her as if he hadn't done the same thing.

"You left us! I begged you to stay! But you had wanted the power to kill a man who you now respect above everyone else! You didn't care about how Naruto had decided to dedicate a whole part of his life to finding you, and how my heart was torn between joining you and fighting against you. You certainly didn't think about how we'd all feel!"

Sasuke wanted to argue; tell her that she was changing the topic and that attacking him wouldn't help her position and that it was a useless way of defending herself. But she was right, and it was best for her to pour out all the anger and pain she felt now before they –

"Of course, you'd never know how I felt. You've never loved anyone other than yourself and your family." She spoke bitterly.

"I would never know how you felt." Sasuke agreed, causing Sakura to look away – ashamed that she had to be reminded that he didn't love her yet again. "Because when I left, you still had some hope that I would come home." She looked into his eyes; her own filled with confusion. "If I didn't manage to stop you from being killed just moments ago, you would never be able to come home again."

Her eyes widened.

"And I'd feel worse than you ever had."

His eyes – after gazing into her own and making sure the meaning behind those words sunk in; darted to view their hands. His were still atop hers, but neither made a move to break the contact. That was probably the most she'd ever heard coming from his lips. Did he just confess?

Sasuke was about to play off the whole conversation and revert back to his cool, uncaring self – denying the hidden implication behind those words when a hand snaked around his neck and a force pushed him towards her, their lips meeting in a much awaited kiss.

Now that he finally felt her lips on his, his mouth automatically began fervently responding: desperately craving more of her mouth-watering taste, her fruity fragrance, her unconditional love. His brain was screaming at him to stop this nonsense before he ended up hurting her like he always did, but his body was too attached to the woman he held in his arms. He felt like a man – deprived of his food for too long and only now being able to engulf himself in its flavours: his taste buds were overwhelmed in her essence yet he wanted _more._ This moment felt as though it was everything he had been waiting for.

Was it?

* * *

><p>She didn't understand why she did it, or how she came to possess enough courage as to make a bold move on him. But the feeling of his lips moving against hers threw all coherent thoughts out of her brain.<p>

She managed to register the euphoric feeling of her mouth being so viciously attacked by his ever-so-soft lips coated in each other's saliva; his arms wound around her waist, crushing her small frame to his built form in a way that was territorial, protective and comforting all at once. In response, the hand on the back of his neck slid downwards as her free hand crept upwards, both clutching frantically at the fabric of his shirt. Sakura shut her eyes tight; for once allowing the bubble of emotions she felt towards him explode sending shivers of excitement, pleasure and exhilaration down every fibre of her being.

How he managed to make her feel aroused, excited, safe and cherished was beyond her understanding.

At one point she was afraid of all these emotions he ignited in her; afraid of all the power that he still held over her and what he intended to do with it.

But when she heard the fear of losing her in his voice laced with the confusion of what he was feeling swirling in his irises, she knew he was just as lost as she was.

Maybe they'd find their way together.

After what felt like an eternity Sakura finally found the strength to pull her lips away from his in a hesitant parting. She closed her eyes; scared of what she might find when she opened them. What if Sasuke hadn't enjoyed _this _as much as she had?

As if in response to her uncertainty, his arms tightened around her and his eyes lingered on the intensity of the red hue that swiped across his teammate's cheeks, Sasuke couldn't help but kiss her forehead dotingly, followed by his lips brushing her button nose and then meeting her own lips once again in a quick kiss. He rested his forehead on hers and for a while – a fleeting moment, everything he had done to hurt her in the past was forgotten.

But then that moment ended.

"What happens now?" She found herself hesitantly asking him. As much as Sakura didn't want to admit it, she was still deeply in love with the Uchiha. She knew in her head that her feelings were all one-sided, but her heart had always urged her on and encouraged her to maintain a close relationship with the boy of her affections, in hope that someday he would return her feelings.

Was that day today?

Or was he going to walk away from it all, like he always did?

One thing was for sure: she wasn't going to be a pushover anymore.

"I don't want to pretend that this," she brushed her lips against his gently, "Never happened."

"Hn."

Small vibrations of laughter shook her body, and since he had her frame held against his own, he felt the small tremors of her amusement in his own. Annoyed that his teammate had found something about him funny he glared at her (and since his forehead was rested on hers, the glare was much more intense than normal). "What?" he snapped.

"I knew it!" she whispered, in a broken yet smug tone, "I _knew _you'd close up on me!" She buried her face into the junction where his neck and shoulder met, as if she were trying to hide the facial expressions that dawned on her features. He didn't need to see her face to know he had hurt her though.

The defeated tone in her voice spoke loud enough.

Sasuke pulled the kunoichi into her lap so that her body was facing his with barely a millimetre of a distance in between; his arms that encircled her clutching her to him. "Sakura…"

"I… don't want to hurt you." He whispered truthfully. "You have to understand." He murmured gently into her hair, "This is who I am."

Her face - previously hidden in his neck, now was at his eyelevel as her hopeful emeralds gleamed with what seemed like faith, "I know." She smiled. "I never said that I wanted you to change. Just…don't push me away anymore."

"We can work this out, Sasuke."

And as said man gazed into the eyes of the woman in front of him; it wasn't the intensity of her green irises that mesmerized him; nor was it the size of her orbs and the innocence that seeped out of them. No, as Sasuke looked into Sakura's eyes, he only saw himself.

Not the messed up, blood thirsty avenger that he grew up to be. Not the traitor who discarded those who cared for him on his conquest for ultimate power. Not the man who'd built barriers around himself so thick that nobody could ever penetrate those walls.

He saw the young boy who wanted to be strong enough to make his family proud. The young boy who would give his life to save his friends without a moment's thought. The young boy who secretly respected and adored his teammates. The boy that he could become once again, but this time with her help.

And for the first time, Sasuke actually believed in _them_.

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><p><strong>REVIEW.<strong>


	10. Passion fruits

**YOU MUST READ THIS. I want to apologise for not updating in so many months! I was planning on putting a lemon in and I was counting on a certain person to help me write the lemon. I waited for a long time and realized this person is obviously busy and doesn't have time to write it (although they told me they would), so I decided to do this chapter on my own.**

**IT IS LEMON FREE.**

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><p>"Morning Sakura-chan!"<p>

"Morning Naruto!"

A week had passed since the wonderful moment Sakura Haruno shared with Sasuke Uchiha that night on the bench. While they weren't in a relationship or had any intimate contact like that night, Sakura wouldn't be lying if she said she was happy. Their friendship was getting stronger; his walls were slowly tumbling down. Sasuke actually bothered to acknowledge her now and then, though of course she didn't expect much from the Uchiha: that evening was a moment of weakness for both of them and it was best that this wouldn't be repeated.

But that didn't mean that they acted like it never happened.

Sakura had noticed how her teammate's gaze always softened when his eyes landed on her; how a small frown would work its way onto his lips, as though he was worrying about her. She understood why too: if she was capable of giving her life away so easily one time, couldn't she do it again? Other than that, nowadays he was found to be standing closer to her than usual; as though he was guarding her.

However when they spar; he would deliberately engage in taijutsu with her. His hand would purposely linger longer at areas where they came in contact with her (whether it was a block or a successful blow). He constantly flash stepped directly behind her; the warmth of his body coating hers; his breath dancing along the skin on her neck, stimulating the area.

'_Old habits die hard, I guess.'_

Speaking of old habits, Sakura was never truly able to dismiss the erotic fantasies of Sasuke Uchiha from her mind, and due to the past few weeks where Sasuke had unleashed his feathery touches upon her (in previous chapters) this made her daydreams more accurate and – dare she say it, even _more_ erotic.

She still had her most recent dream fresh in her memory…

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><p><em>After a long day at the hospital, Sakura stumbled into her humble abode in the dead of night. With great difficulty, she managed to thrust her keys into the bothersome lock of her front door, the jingling of keys fuelling the headache that was to come.<em>

_Sluggishly, the kunoichi ambled to the kitchen with the intention of preparing a midnight snack that would sate her hunger (saving lives does cause quite an appetite) when something caught her eye._

_A basket of passion fruit sat enticingly on her dining table._

_Now, if Sakura hadn't just come back from a 20-hour shift, she would have had the common sense to be suspicious. Or the least, be worried for her own safety. Passion fruits were her favourite, but the only person who knew so is Naruto. And if he were the one to present her with such delicious fruits, she was absolutely certain that he would be here as well, loudly informing her of his kind acts of retrieving the rare fruit._

_So who could be so generous as to leave her with such a valuable gift?_

"_You're home late."_

_A masculine voice rang in her ears, __**his **__masculine voice. The warmth of his breath ghosted over the back of her neck causing her to shiver in delight. His lips massaged her neck tenderly; his teeth lightly dragged across her soft skin in a tantalizing manner. The heat from his body encased her own, sending ripples of delight throughout her body. If it was possible, her mouth watered even more. She secretly wondered which would be tastier, the passion fruit or him?_

"_Sasuke-kun?"_

_She could feel him smirk against her neck. His arms wrapped themselves around her waist._

"_Were you hoping for someone else?" A hand crawled under her shirt, fingers tracing her bindings._

_The fruit wasn't the only passionate thing on her list that night._

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><p>"Sakura-chan? What's the matter?"<p>

"Hmmm?" a faint hue of red painted her cheeks, _'Dammit! Why am I always caught?'_

The medic-nin cast a discreet glance at the man of her fantasies, inwardly sighing when she found his attention elsewhere. But was she sighing in relief or disappointment?

"Oh don't worry about it Naruto! I was thinking about stupid things again!"

"Ugly, that's Dickless's job."

Before Naruto could scream any profanities he was interrupted by their sensei's entrance.

"Morning!"

"YOU'RE LATE!"

Whilst Kakashi was receiving the usual dose of verbal abuse from the boisterous Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke chuckled quietly, "Some things never change."

His remark caused the kunoichi to stare at him in disbelief. After a moment of intense eye-contact, a small smile worked its way onto her face. _'Team 7's road to recovery is almost finished! We might all have that happy ending after all!'_

She thought back to a few weeks ago, at this exact spot. He was so closed off, sure they had him back. But she would be lying if she said it wasn't awkward. They didn't really know how to act around him (save for Naruto, he never really changed much when it came to friendships.) However, now it was like the old days (but with Sai too), Sasuke really was opening up, even if it was at a snail's pace.

"Dickless, shut up. The whole of Konoha can hear your shrieking."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?"

"Are you deaf too?"

As the two continued their one-sided squabble, Kakashi's eye crinkled. "…maybe Sai should spar with Sakura today."

"I'll spar with her."

All eyes shifted to the owner of the voice, a smirk adorning his handsome features. His onyx gaze fixated on his teammate; the quirk of his lips insinuating far more than his words.

The receiver of his stare fidgeted nervously under his silent scrutiny whilst the rest of the team looked at each other in confusion, not understanding the situation at all.

Kakashi shrugged and said before vanishing, "…if that's what you want."

Naruto and Sai decided to take their bickering (or Naruto's nagging, really) to the training field.

The remaining two didn't move an inch.

Sakura really didn't know what to think, why was he looking at her like… like _that_? He couldn't have possibly read her thoughts again! She couldn't help but feel excited at the possible consequences that could result from this. If it was anything like last time, that is.

How funny, a few weeks ago she would have been mortified.

But then again, he may igno–

She was broken out of her reverie when her view suddenly became one of toned abdominals, a firm chest followed by the smooth contours of Sasuke's face. Only then did it dawn on her that he was literally _10 centimetres away from her! _

He sighed, his breath warming her face as he rested his forehead on hers.

"What did I tell you about daydreaming?"

A delightful colour of red coated her cheeks as she realised their proximity and their previous encounters. "S-sasuke-kkun?"

"I'll be waiting for you." He whispered before disappearing into thin air.

'_Waiting? What for? Was he waiting to spar with me? But the training grounds are occupied! So where…' _her fists clenched and she realised something off.

She could clench her right fist completely, but her left…?

She opened her left hand and giggled at the sight.

Sitting on her palm was a passion fruit.

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><p><strong>REVIEW.<strong>


	11. Sakura's Conclusions

**So maybe it wasn't the ending chapter. Well I realised that you guys are right, it wasn't a satisfying ending. And I thank you for bearing with that crap of a chapter. Lets just say that this story isn't over yet! :)**

**I'm sorry for the poorly written chapter, would this one make up for it?**

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><p>Grasping the passion fruit in one hand, Sakura made her way to the apartment.<p>

After all, where else could he be?

It's more than obvious that he read her mind _again. _But this time the only chills she had were those of excitement. Anticipation coursed through her veins like poison making her hurried steps bouncier and her distant smile wider. The last time she had felt so giddy was when she was 12 years old and was grouped with Sasuke (and Naruto – but that was more of a downside at the time) in her genin team.

That particular thought caused Sakura's posture to slacken, the length and speed of her slides both decreasing before she came into a halt. She remembered her 12 year old self: bratty, selfish, love-struck and obnoxious. That was the last time she was giddy because she spent her time focusing on Sasuke (when deep down she knew it was useless) instead of training. And it took Sasuke's departure that unforgettable night to knock some sense into her. It was only after that night did Sakura slowly grew to become who she was now.

And all it took was Sasuke's seductive advances to reduce her to that pathetic 12 year old again.

As hard as she tried to deny it, she couldn't help the inkling of doubt that clouded her thoughts. Whatever was going on between them didn't really make any sense. Sasuke only started taking interest in her in _that _way when he read into her sex-deprived mind. If it wasn't for his curiosity this wouldn't be happening. For all she knew, he may just want her for the sex (all though they have never really gone past kissing and some petting here and there).

Sasuke had never really paid her _any _attention until then.

What if he was just using her?

Uncertainty crept into her being as she willed herself to continue in the direction of her apartment.

Sasuke respected their bond, maybe not in the way she did but he stilled valued their friendship nevertheless. She was his comrade; he would never just use her. Would he?

Come to think of it, Sasuke only really focused on his goals: gaining enough power to defeat Itachi and then restore his clan.

_Restore his clan._

Epiphany struck her. His second goal was to produce heirs! Of course the only way to do so is through sex (unless he's asexual… nope.), and with her tainted thoughts open for his viewing pleasure, it was a golden opportunity for him!

Passing the hospital that the kunoichi often found herself working in, she noted that her apartment was literally just around the corner of the street, and if the passion fruit was a hint, Sasuke would be just around the corner as well.

She stopped walking at the end of the street, and pondered her options. She could:

1. Show up at her apartment and question Sasuke's intentions, probably stirring an argument between the two. The result? He'd probably storm out angrily, leaving her in tears as well as silent treatment by both ninjas for a very long time.

2. Show up at her apartment and pretend that she didn't just spend her entire journey there in thought and go with the flow. Results? They could become something more, and while Sasuke gets his wish of having an heir Sakura will be left to suffer in a loveless relationship.

3. Tell him that she didn't want to do this with him; he was her teammate and sex can result in many emotions afterwards which may affect their team's performance. Result? He would agree, (after all, he was a logical person) and he'd find someone else to use as a baby-making machine (but would she want that?)

_4. Not _show up at her apartment and spend the day somewhere _away _from him. Consequences? A confrontation by an irritated Uchiha followed by an argument, anger, tears and silent treatment.

Thinking of all her options, Sakura eventually made her decision.

Squaring her shoulders, Sakura rounded the corner, refusing to let herself even think of backing away from her decision. Instead, she decided to focus her mind on trivial matters like where she could hide Tsunade's sake, or how she could avoid her fan boys.

Before she knew it, her feet brought her to the plain front door of her apartment. After only a moment's hesitation, her hands shakily retrieved the keys from her pocket and fumbled with the lock.

'_Once I go in, there's no turning back.'_

Her head rested on the solid, wood surface, thinking of every excuse to not open the door. Her hand hovered tentatively above the door knob. _'I might as well deal with this now. Putting it off will only make this worse.' _

Opening the door to her abode, Sakura slowly approached the table where the basket of passion fruits rested upon. Daintily, she picked up the basket to inspect its contents only to find that within the basket were definitely not passion fruits.

No.

Inside the basket lay several copies of an orange book.

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><p><strong>And the story goes on.<strong>

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to help me improve?**

**Every comment is appreciated.**

**REVIEW.**


	12. Some Friendly Advice?

There they lay, mocking her with its painfully bright cover. Sakura didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Why on earth would Sasuke send her several editions of _Icha Icha? _This must be some kind of sick joke. Nobody, _nobody _in their right minds would even consider giving her that cursed book let alone multiple copies of them! When Sasuke had given her the passion fruit, she assumed that he had made it clear he understood what she was imagining. Was he trying to add his own little twist to their meeting?

But Sakura was known for her intelligence. She knew Sasuke had always been disgusted by their sensei's obsession with the book even after the return. Which brings up another suspect:

Kakashi.

He wasn't training with anyone, Naruto and Sai were battling it out at the training grounds. She herself was meant to be engaged in a sparring session with the Uchiha at this very moment. So where would their beloved pervert of a sensei be?

"I guess I'm not who you're expecting," Speak of the devil. "Am I right?"

"And I'm guessing you're responsible for the basket of porn?"

His eye crinkled mischievously and chuckle left his masked mouth. Scratching the back of his head in a rather Kakashi-like fashion, team 7's sensei pulled out another cursed book of his own from his pocket and his eyes immediately scanned the contents, ingraining every word into his corrupted mind.

"So, what brings you into my apartment on a fine day like this?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn't you be sparring?"

"I came home to collect a few things, Sasuke was supposed to meet me here before we leave to spar." A smooth lie flew out of her lips and Sakura couldn't help but be proud of herself for maintaining her tone and posture. She was always terrible at lying. In fact, the kunoichi was such a failure at keeping up pretences that she wasn't even on the list of suitable kunoichis for seduction missions. But if her mentor was to see her now, she was sure her shishou would be impressed! Kakashi would probably believe her after her perfect performance!

"And I'm assuming that those passion fruits Sasuke purchased were to be used as shuriken?"

Or not.

"You've seen Sasuke?" Sakura's eyes light, completely ignoring the fact that Kakashi had just caught her lie.

"Hmmmm." He confirmed, "He was acting rather odd,"

Sakura watched him suspiciously as they faded into a flashback…

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><p><em>Kakashi was lazily ambling down one of the many paths in the streets of Konoha, his faithful book held in one hand whilst the other in his pocket. He planned to get a massage today whilst discussing the contents of his loyal novel with his masseuse (in other words: wooing her with the same lines Satoshi used to get Hanako).<em>

_Then he saw it._

_The one thing that blew his mind to the extent that his jaw would have dropped to the ground so hard that it may have caused a crater as big as Sakura's punch (keyword: may). That one object that would leave his mouth hanging open so wide that Choji could probably fit himself and his whole family in it (as well as his food stash)._

_Who was he kidding?_

_Choji could barely squeeze in through the door to the Hokage's office. If all his family were to be there, the whole place would probably sink 60ft into the ground._

_However, yet again Kakashi's mask came to the rescue and as a result, all we see is the slight widening of his right eye as it absorbed the huge sign that might as well have been pointing to heaven ._

_An Icha-Icha sale.60% off all books!_

_Now how could he ignore such a once-in-a-lifetime chance?_

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><p>"Sensei, they have those sales every 2 weeks."<p>

"Be quiet, and let me continue my flashback."

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><p><em>Yes. He never knew if he would live to see another sale again (being a ninja means death is literally around the corner almost every day) so naturally he sprinted into the store and purchased an estimated amount of books that he assumed would keep him satisfied until the next sale or until his unpredictable death. Which mean he bought all the books, basically.<em>

_Every single one of them._

_After his generous contribution to the sale, followed by usual glares from other customers (who now had nothing to purchase) and the cheeky grins from the shopkeeper (which of course Kakashi replied with a sly eye-crinkle of his own) Kakashi faced a dilemma. _

_His pockets weren't big enough to hold all the books._

_However, every cloud has a silver lining and in this case, Sasuke was his silver lining. The brooding shinobi was holding a basket and walking hurriedly towards the direction of the hospital, walking passed the very Icha-Icha store that his sensei was in._

"_Sasuke!"_

_Said man stiffened at the voice and Kakashi – being the ever so observant ninja he was, noticed. 'Hmmm… looks like someone's hiding something.'_

"_Where are you going?"_

_A maniacal grin worked its way onto Kakashi's face, the mask hiding his cunningness from the naked eye (yet ANOTHER reason why he never took it off). _

"_Shouldn't you be sparring with Sakura?" Sasuke's hand clenched tightly around the basket at the sound of their beloved kunoichi's name, he turned his head slightly to meet Kakashi's questioning look._

"_Hn."_

"_Say, her apartment is in this direction as well isn't it?"_

"…"

_Sneaking a peak at the contents in the basket the white-haired ninja chuckled at the passion fruits (everyone who knew Sakura well enough knew of her obsession for those fruits). "…nice choice of weaponry," he said motioning at the basket that Sasuke was clutching on to._

_And then he saw another jaw-dropping, eye-popping sight to behold. _

_Was that __**red **__on his student's cheeks?_

_Did the white-haired shinobi actually manage to get the Uchiha to…blush? That was as much of an achievement as getting Naruto to stop eating ramen for a week! It was even more challenging than resisting the urge to peek in the women's section of the hot springs (and on every occasion, he ended up surrendering to their feminine charms and allowing himself just one 'quick' look)._

_And simply for his own entertainment he decided to make the Uchiha __even more__ uncomfortable._

"_Looks like you'll be having a very….__**intense **__sparring session hmm?"_

_As expected, the red on his cheeks spread rapidly until it looked like he was suffering from rashes all over his originally pale face and neck. 'Allergies, perhaps?'_

_Kakashi's eye crinkled as he walked up to the awkward looking Uchiha and whispered, "You might need some __**protection **__for your spar. Wouldn't want you two ending up with more than just wounds and gashes on your hands."_

_Sasuke replied with a soft 'Hn' before continuing on his path. Of course, he never realised that whilst Kakashi was whispering his advice to the younger shinobi, he had slipped in few 'surprises' for the two of them. He must have been so lost in thought about the pink-haired medic nin that he wasn't being his usual observant self._

'_At least I have fewer books to carry home now.'_

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><p>"And now I believe he's gone out to get more armour against you in your…battles."<p>

"Kakashi-sensei, you perve!" Sakura blushed, moving to whack him on the head but stopped short when she remembered Sasuke's real reasons for seducing her. As soon as that thought returned to her head, her gleaming emerald eyes lost their sparkle as her raised hand fell limply at her slides, shoulders slumping in defeat.

A melancholic sigh escaped her lips.

"You have it all wrong, sensei."

"How so?"

"Sasuke is too…focused on his goals to bother using _extra protection _against me."

Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, this is just a sparring session…_isn't it?_"

He received a blank stare in response.

"Fine, fine." Putting his hands up in mock defeat, he continued. "However, I really don't think you give him as much credit as he deserves. You have to look underneath the underneath."

Sakura sighed irritably, rubbing her fingers against her temples; of course her sensei had to be vague about everything! "I don't understand what you're saying."

"And you're supposed to be the smart one…the only way we can tell for sure what Sasuke's motives are at this point is to see if he uses that little advice I gave him and brings out that piece of armour for his friend down south–"

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

"Well well well, speak of the devil. I guess I'll be taking my leave now then."

Reclaiming the presents for his students that were so highly unappreciated, Kakashi sent a wink in his only female student's direction and was about to vanish in a puff of smoke when an idea suddenly popped into his mind.

"Oh, Sakura?" said person and the Uchiha heir both turned to the ninja who's eye crinkled with a mischievous glint dangerously lingering in them, promising far more than both students hoped for.

"Sai wanted to try out page 57 with you, _tonight._"

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><p><strong>Thanks for waiting everyone!<strong>

**REVIEW. **


	13. Observations

Sai was a dilemma.

Although many often judged the root member to be 'socially retarded' – which was quite correct (those belly shirts should have been enough of an indication), he really did try his hardest to fit in and as a result, began studying the enigma of human emotions.

And he was proud to say that after thoroughly studying both ninjas and civilians (please take note that he did not _stalk _them, merely observed from a distance) Sai was improving. He was now capable of categorising his comrades into specific types of humans.

For instance, Naruto Uzumaki completely fitted under the 'feminine gay' category. As stated from the book, the dick-less did wear clothes with vibrant colours that were 'totally out there,' and 'screamed attention whore'. What's more, his 'sassy attitude' did do him some justice whenever people tried to 'get on his grill.' And if his constant obsession with the Uchiha didn't prove his homosexuality, the overused sexy-no-jutsu _must have _stood for something right? After all, the blonde did have a tendency to show off his…_womanly _curves whenever possible.

Ino Yamanaka was a classic example of a 'fashionista.' If it weren't for her frequent invitations to her house (although he was unsure why she'd want to spend her nights with him when Sakura was clearly available), Sai would have assumed she lived at one of the shopping malls. Her long blonde hair shined with so much radiance that it was obvious the kunoichi shampooed daily. There was one day where Sai had asked her what shampoo she used, to which Ino immediately replied with "L'Oreal" because apparently, she was 'worth it'.

However, the behaviours of his two teammates continued to baffle the newest member of team 7.

Sakura Haruno, the girl that constantly resorted to violence to vent her frustrations and diffuse whatever awkward tension Naruto instilled with his motor mouth. She was gentle at various moments, but her temper was absolutely unpredictable. From the information Sai had gathered from other books, the only conclusion he could make – one that makes him genuinely concerned for her well-being – was that Sakura was constantly menstruating.

Sasuke Uchiha, on the other hand, was an enigma. At first glance Sai assumed he was the typical 'cool guy', he attracts fangirls and other wastes of space with his arrogance (like flies to a lamp) but doesn't find anyone worthy enough to enter his bubble. Yet, when the traitor was in Naruto or Sakura's presence, things changed. Sasuke was still…what was the word? A pickle? Pringle? Prick? Ah, yes. A prick. Sasuke was still a prick around them, but the extent of his douchebaggery lessened considerably. He actually responded to what they were saying, even holding somewhat of a conversation at times. It was probably due to their encouragement, but Sasuke and Sai were on relatively friendly (cordial) terms.

However, it appeared that Sasuke wanted to take their friendship to the next level. At least that's what the giant bruise Sasuke's fist made on his cheek told him.

Was this what they call, _roughhousing?_

Sai was more than happy to become closer acquainted with the Uchiha (in a purely platonic way), but he wasn't sure he could handle such physical onslaughts from the ex-traitor on a regular basis. He couldn't help but reflect on those moments where Sasuke would smack Naruto on the side of his head or casually punch the guy into the nearest wall during their friendly banters. Now he kind of admired Naruto for being able to withstand hits with such intensity. Not even Sakura hit him that forcefully when he called her ugly.

It almost seemed as though Sasuke was putting all of his strength into that completely unexpected punch.

Because that's what it was: completely unexpected.

Or at least, as unexpected as being walked up to and punched in the face in the middle of a market, could be.

From the splitting headache that recurred afterwards, Sai thought it best to put these thoughts on hold and visit the hag at the hospital. Maybe she could give him some friendship advice while healing Sasuke's marks of affection.

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><p>"OH MY KAMI! What happened to your face?!" was the immediate response Sai received from the pinkette the moment he crawled through the her office window.<p>

Unsure of whether her question was rhetorical or genuine, he remained silent.

...

"Dammit Sai, answer me!"

Oh. So it wasn't rhetorical.

"Well..." Sai began hesitantly, "I believe that I have just undergone my first experience of _roughhousing._"

Sakura raised her eyebrows, making her skepticism known. "Are you sure that was roughhousing or a full-on fist fight?" She hurried over to his side and began fussing over him the way a mother would over their child.

"Although I don't know traitor-san very well, I don't think he's the type of person who would randomly start a fight."

Her eyes widened. From afar it looked like there was only a bruise on his cheek. But up close it appears that Sasuke managed to split his lip as well...

Wait. Sasuke?

"Sasuke-kun did this to you?" Her eyes softened as she lifted her hand to Sai's face and healed his wounds. Poor Sai! Anyone with a functioning brain would've known that Kakashi was just joking about the whole 'page 57' fiasco.

Unfortunately, Sasuke was thinking with his dick at that moment in time.

Sai, being the clueless idiot he was, was oblivious to bouts of anger. So it was no real surprise to her that he'd completely misinterpret Sasuke's actions.

Wait a minute. There was no evidence to confirm that whatever happened the day before had anything to do with Sai's current predicament.

Well that was a bummer. And for a second there she thought he was _jealous-_

"Wow." Her inner ramblings were cut short by Sai's unusual outburst. It was then that she realized that her teammate's face was literally a hair's breadth apart from her own, and she had yet to remove her hand from the side of his face when she'd finished healing him quite a while ago. To add to her unease, Sai was staring deeply into her eyes before his obsidian gaze roamed over the rest of her face, taking in Sakura's features from an uncomfortably close angle.

She'd never seen him look at her, or any other woman, with such intensity. Why was he looking at her like that, all of a sudden? Having Naruto like her in the past resulted in a lot of unnecessary drama.

Sai shifted even closer to the girl, so close that their noses were brushing. Nervously, Sakura gulped. Could it be that he...

"You look even uglier up close."

She smashed her chakra-infused fist into his face, causing much more than a bruise on his cheek to appear. She smiled at the Sai-shaped-hole in her wall before casually walking back to her desk and calling a medic over on her pager.

"Hai, Sakura-san?"

"Is it possible for you to come to my office and heal an idiot for me? I'm currently needed elsewhere."

"Sure, Sakura-san." A pause. "May I ask what happened?"

She smirked. "Just a bit of roughhousing."

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><p><strong>I'm sorry for making you guys wait almost 2 years! I'd like to hope that my writing has improved since then though. I do apologise for Sasuke being so OOC in the previous chapters, I'll try to work on that. <strong>

**Before anyone gets oversensitive, I actually love homosexuals as much as I love heterosexuals.**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated!**

**Stay beautiful! :)**


	14. Progress

Sasuke was in a pretty damn good mood this morning, as he strolled down the bustling streets of Konoha. The throbbing pain in his hand only made him happier.

Man, he really punched the living daylights out of that scumbag.

The guy didn't even see it coming either, and that's what made it all the more enjoyable to wham his knuckles into Sai's surprised face. Then he left, no explanation given.

What reason would he have given?

Well for one, the guy has the freakiest smile he'd ever seen. Combine that creeper grin with his pale skin and you'd assume he was Orochimaru's spawn if it weren't for his headband. Not to mention, the creep had no idea how to interact with people! And since this was coming from Sasuke, it really meant something.

At first, he shrugged off Sai's social awkwardness as part and parcel of being a root nin in the past. But then as time passed, he noticed that those stupid nicknames and crude remarks did not lessen and in fact, were used more often to purposely aggravate his teammates and others.

How did he know Sai was abusing the "socially retarded" status they gave him?

Simple. He did it too. Except he was much more tactful about it.

Yet despite all these nasty habits, Sai's peculiar quirks had never warranted such a violent desire from Sasuke in the past. At least not to the extent that he'd treasure the moment he would beat the man within an inch of his life.

Of course he knew that Kakashi, being the mischievous pervert he was, was playing around and looking for ways to get the Uchiha mad, probably so he could see angry sex in action rather than in those crappy books he slipped into Sasuke's basket the other day. (Yes he read them, but only to make sure that he would be a better lover than all Sakura's fantasies depicted him to be.)

But he had never really considered the thought of Sakura also being interested in other men, so the mention of Sai definitely made him uneasy. After all, she hadn't been a die-hard fangirl for years. Did she have any lovers in the past? Did she have any now?

Of course not.

During those times when he pried into her mind with his sharingan, he didn't find any indications of another man catching her interest. But he could never be too sure.

Besides, Kakashi always said to look underneath the underneath. Was he implying that there was _something _going on between the two of them that he was unaware of?

He caught sight of a black blur in the corner of his eye. Looking up, he noticed that his feet had brought him towards the hospital. He could see the whitewashed ceiling of Sakura's office from her window two floors above. It was obvious that someone - most likely a ninja - had come through her window.

A part of him toyed with the idea of checking up on her and her visitor. There was a conveniently located tree beside the hospital, from where he could watch her without anyone knowing as the numerous branches would shield him from curious eyes. He discarded that notion. He was not a stalker. Even if he was somewhat romantically attached to his female teammate (although that knowledge was confined to him and Sakura), he would not stoop down so low as to _spy _on her-

"OH MY KAMI! What happened to your face?"

Without hesitation he gracefully leaped into the tree and began watching.

* * *

><p>If Sasuke was happy before, he certainly wasn't anymore.<p>

Much to his chagrin, that bellybutton flashing creep was Sakura's surprise visitor. Instead of taking the punch like a man should, he was whining about it to the pinkette.

Unfortunately, Sasuke couldn't hear anything they were saying but he could definitely-

What.

The.

FUCK?

He blinked once.

Then twice.

He scowled. Sai was way too close to her for Sasuke's comfort. Judging by the look on her face, Sakura was looking pretty worried about the proximity as well.

Wait a minute.

Was she worried about him making moves on her, or was she worried about them being caught?

Something inside of Sasuke sank at the sight of their noses brushing.

He clenched his fists, shifting his position slightly in the tree. Maybe it was a good thing he checked up on her after all. She clearly wasn't as loyal and devoted as she made herself out to be. He averted his sight from the disturbing scene and mentally produced a list of other possible men she cheated on him with when a loud sound and a strong vibration brought his focus back to her office.

His eyes widened.

Sai was gone. Sakura was the only one in his line of sight. Her right fist was raised as though she had just swung it. The furious expression on her flustered face made the sides of Sasuke's lips lift upwards ever-so-slightly. She must've given him what he deserved.

Sasuke knew she would never cheat on him.

On the other hand, Sai was another problem. The mental image of him and Sakura standing so close to each other made his blood boil, especially after that incident he witnessed. But he wouldn't never describe what he was feeling as the J-word, green wasn't a good colour on Uchihas. He was simply possessive over what was _his. _

Sasuke swiftly jumped out of the tree. Ignoring the gasps of shock and surprised stares villagers gave him, he walked towards Naruto's apartment.

He needed a spar. Badly.

* * *

><p>"TEME! Get off of your man-period!"<p>

"Shut up and fight me dobe." He charged his hand with lightning and attacked the blonde relentlessly. Naruto on the other hand could only dodge the endless onslaught of chidoris in fear of ruining the entire training grounds with any retaliation.

"I thought you said only taijutsu!"

A fist met his face. Luckily it wasn't lightning-infused.

"I changed my mind."

"Ok you bastard!" He grabbed the hand on his face, locking it in place, and built up a rasengan with his other. "It's either you tell me what made that 10-foot pole in your ass go deeper, or I pull out that stick myself."

...

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his teammate.

...

"GET OVER YOURSELF TEME!" With excessive force he shoved his rasengan into the smirking ninja and watched his body fly into several trees, "I didn't mean it THAT way!"

Sasuke winced slightly as he forced himself up off the ground. That one actually hurt.

"So are you going to tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Spitting some blood out of his mouth, the Uchiha slowly walked towards him, reigniting his chidori.

Naruto sighed. This was going to be a long spar.

* * *

><p>"Wait Sakura-san!" A younger girl bolted upright from her seat behind the counter at the surprising sight of pink hair, "Where are you going?"<p>

The pinkette waved off the receptionist's question and with a tired smile she replied, "Don't worry, Tsunade-shishou knows I'm on a break."

The teenager at the counter recoiled in shock. Sakura-san? Taking a _break_? Why, that's unheard of! But she was in no position to argue, and the medic nin really had been overworking herself as of late.

With a smile she called out, "We'll cover for you until you get back!"

Her words were acknowledged with a lazy wave.

* * *

><p>After an hour of continuous intensive sparring, both ninjas were out of breath; their chests were heaving dramatically as they gulped in breathes of air.<p>

"What's eating at you teme?"

They watched each other with guarded eyes.

"Mind your own business dobe."

Releasing an exaggerated scream of frustration, the blonde dug his feet into the grass before sprinting off towards his teammate with a renewed sense of vigor.

* * *

><p>"That'll be 200 yen,"<p>

Fishing out the money from her purse, Sakura gratefully collected the bundle of apples from the elderly man and elbowed her way through the overcrowded market. In all honesty, Tsunade was not even the slightest bit aware that her apprentice left the hospital on a self-declared break. But Sakura knew that her shishou wouldn't mind too muchif she found out.

The keyword being _if. _

Somewhere amidst the overwhelming assemble of unknown faces, emerald eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar brown head and thin stature being swept away by the bustling crowd. Without thinking, she forced her way through the throng and, grabbing the back of the familiar stranger's shirt, dragged them out of the horde of civilians into a more deserted vicinity.

"Hey..."

The moment she found those chestnut-brown orbs glaring back at her with such ferocity, Sakura regretted her display of kindness. Of course the boy was still upset. He lost someone important to him because of her lack of medical ability.

She wouldn't forgive herself either.

And so, without any hesitation, the Godaime's apprentice knelt down in front of the boy (who only days ago attempted to kill her) and, with her eyes closed, touched her forehead to the ground in between both of her hands.

"I am truly sorry for the life of your sister that I couldn't save." Her voice was hoarse as she barely managed to stifle the sob in her throat. "I wish I could take her place...but I have people that I need to protect, and lives that I can still save."

The boy was shocked at the humility she displayed. She was kneeling down to him in public, not even paying any heed to the fact that her reputation was at stake!

Sakura lifted her head from the ground to look the boy in the eye and he marveled at the dirt smeared across her forehead. Did she realize how dirty her face looked? Did she even care?

Judging from her tear-rimmed eyes, he assumed that her appearance was not of her main concern at this moment in time.

"If I told you that I understand how you feel, I'd be lying."

She swallowed visibly at the unconcealed rage on his face.

"But... I've grown up with two people who know exactly what you're about to go through. And they'd be more than happy to make sure you don't shoulder this loss on your own."

He was well aware that she was referring to her teammates, the once-hated kyuubi vessel and the only surviving Uchiha, of whom the latter still scared him (especially after the run-in they had a couple of nights ago).

"And I will do everything in my power to make sure that you will never have to go through what they had to."

He was about to snort but the sound died in his throat once he caught sight of the fierce look in those emerald pools. Sakura's eyes held so much _compassion _for the boy that it took an immense amount of hatred and mistrust for him not to _forgive her completely._ Unfortunately, he had still managed to retain some of his abhorrence for the medic but offered some form of a truce with her when he meekly held his hand out for her to shake.

Throughout this entire emotional roller-coaster, neither of them had properly introduced themselves (or had been introduced) to each other. If he was ever to move on from that fateful event, he might as well start now.

"Tetsuya Daisuke."

* * *

><p><strong>So this was more of a filler chapter than anything really, kind of my way of saying that I'm still alive and posting. Hopefully it'll be up to speed again in the next chapter. <strong>

**Thanks for reading and review if you may! :)**

**Enjoy your Sundays.**


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